In football, Qatar could not buy a world selection

When Qatar really appears on the sporting map for the first time, the small desert state causes a sensation. He has put together a complete world selection for the Handball World Championship in his own country, exceptional talents such as the Bosnian Danijel Saric or the Cuban Rafael Capote appear for the team, which has so far been freed from great splendor, on the sidelines is the Spaniard Valero Rivera, who FC Barcelona to six Champions League triumphs and still coached his home country in the previous global title fights.

In the end, Qatar only had to admit defeat to France 22:25 in the final. But far longer than the abrupt leap to the top of the world seven years ago, the emirate has had the reputation of being able to buy sporting success in order to polish its image.

Perhaps Felix Sanchez would also have liked to follow this motto. Like his handball colleague Rivera, the 46-year-old comes from Spain and will coach hosts Qatar in the opening game of the World Cup on Sunday (5 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker). But in his team one searches in vain for big names. The best-known players are Hasan Al-Haydos, with 160 appearances record man in his country, and Akram Afif, left winger and with four million euros the professional with the highest market value in the squad. The regulations of the world association Fifa prevent an increase in personnel.

Unlike in handball, where a three-year international break is enough to be allowed to start for another nation, football professionals are prohibited from such lively changes. Once they've played just one senior international, they've "fixed themselves".

Instead of a world selection, which the small organizer could easily have afforded with the great financial possibilities, only players from the local Qatar Stars League are playing. Accordingly, selection coach Sanchez is cautious before the start against Ecuador. "We know we're not favourites," he says. "But we have to set ourselves high expectations within the scope of our possibilities and try to get the maximum out of it."

What is that good for in the end is an intriguing question. Because for Qatar it is the first World Cup participation ever, after the opening game against Ecuador it is against Senegal (November 25) and the Netherlands (November 29). Against this background, much more than gaining experience at a high level could be a great success for the nation ranked 50th in the Fifa world rankings.

“We will be playing against teams that have reached the final of a World Cup or are African champions,” Sanchez says of his rivals in Group A. “Many of the players are the best in the world at their positions, with World Cup and Champions League Experience. So we know what our role is.”

The outsider could benefit from a somewhat unusual cooperation at the home World Cup. The Belgian club KAS Eupen has been owned by the Aspire Academy since 2012. The sports center in the capital Doha, which was built 18 years ago at a cost of around one billion euros, uses the partnership to regularly send footballers to Europe, where they can gain match practice at a comparatively high level. Left wing Afif was also active for Eupen. Other colleagues from the national team, such as defender Bassam Al-Rawi, also have European experience - but they have all returned to their home country and play for one of the twelve clubs in the top division there.

The first signs of a gentle recovery can already be seen in Sanchez's selection. Qatar has regularly failed in all World Cup qualifiers since it first took part in the title fights in Argentina in 1978 and is now only allowed to start as a host. But in 2019 the team managed a small football sensation: they became Asian champions. In the final there was a 3-1 victory over Japan, who will be the first opponents of the German national team next Wednesday. With nine tournament goals, Almoez Ali became the top scorer in the Asian championship. The center forward also nourishes the hopes of the desert emirate at the home World Cup.

The latest test match results could also be a little encouragement. They drew 2-2 against Chile, 2-0 against Guatemala and 1-0 against Albania. Not the really big soccer nations, but at least a good preparation for the start on Sunday in the Al Bayt Stadium. "We had a good preparatory program considering we are Qatar, a small country with little experience," said coach Sanchez. It is a big task for his players to prove themselves at home. “We try to isolate ourselves from the noise around us and focus on doing our best. It's difficult because then you go out onto the square and you see 60,000 people. It's the first World Cup game and there are so many expectations."

Sanchez, who has coached the team for five years and is a close friend of FC Barcelona coach Xavi, has never seen such a crowd at a match in his current role. And it will be exciting to see how his players pull themselves out of the affair at home under the conditions that cannot be simulated, despite the longest preparation time of all World Cup participants of more than two months. "In 2019 it was very difficult to imagine Qatar winning the Asian Cup, but we won it," says the coach. “Of course I'm not talking about Qatar winning the World Cup. But competing against the three teams in the group at a good level is our challenge. And then it's football: you never know what can happen."

Sanchez tries to ignore the debates about human rights violations, the exploitation of foreign workers on the World Cup construction sites and openly expressed homophobia, as recently by World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman. Instead, the Catalan advertises the advantages of his adopted country: "There will be a good football atmosphere because everything will be in one city," said the coach. He would say to fans and other visitors to the global championships, “to enjoy the World Cup and Qatar, most of them will get to know a new country, a new city and a new culture. A lot of people go to places with prejudices, but I hope that when people come, they see the reality of the country and feel comfortable."